The parking status system generally relates to electronic display of parking status and more specifically to overlay of parking status of vehicles upon a visual image of a street. The present invention provides an efficient visual representation of parking status and an intuitive interface where a parking control officer verifies the parking status of a vehicle seen by the officer and the payment status of the vehicle whether by existing meter, pay and display unit, or remote payment system.
When people travelled by horse, the rider tied reigns of the horse to a hitching rail when the rider dismounted in town. Remembering the needs of the horse, the rider returned to the horse in a timely manner and the hitching rail opened for another rider to tie up his horse. Then people began using automobiles.
People drive their automobiles, or cars, to many destinations. Some destinations became popular for automobiles and necessary for people. People take their cars to stores, movie theatres, parks, government offices, sporting events, businesses, and the like. Early on, few people had cars. However, cars have become present in great numbers, so much so that planners account for cars in road design and urban planning. People though do not drive their cars indefinitely. Cars eventually bring their drivers and passengers to a destination. At a destination, people park their cars.
At some destinations, parking remains plentiful in lots, such as at stores, malls, and sporting events. In urban areas, the concentration of businesses draws people and their cars. However, the streets adjacent to buildings accommodate only a finite number of cars. As a compromise between parking near a building and the space available, parking spaces became metered, that is, rented. Because streets are generally owned by municipalities, city governments usually operate parking meters and deploy the legions of parking control officers that enforce the parking regulations.
Parking meters have generally accepted coins in various denominations in exchange for a certain amount of time to park a car adjacent to a meter. The rate per hour for a parking space varies among municipalities. Generally, a driver finds an empty parking space for his or her vehicle near the driver's destination. The driver then deposits coins in the adjacent meter for the desired amount of time. The driver then walks away from the vehicle. Meanwhile, a parking control officer, on foot or mounted in a vehicle, checks the meter from time to time. Meters often indicate when the time has expired with visual signals displayed upon the meter. If a parking control officer sees such a signal, the officer can then issue a ticket to the holdover driver. Parking control officers walk or drive an assigned beat, or block of addresses, noting expired meters.